It hasn't even been a month since Kevin Durant won the NBA Finals MVP award while leading the Warriors past the Cavaliers, but he's already reminding Golden State fans why he's already one of the most popular athletes in the Bay Area.

Durant decided to forgo a massive long-term contract this summer in order to remain with the Warriors on a two-year deal worth roughly $53 million. Though he will hardly be strapped for cash, Durant could have been one of the highest-paid players in the league.

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Warriors general manager Bob Myers realized Durant's "sacrifice" - passing on a pay increase of up to $8 million per year - was the main reason they could keep the team's core on board.

"His gesture of taking less gave us the ability to be very aggressive in pursuing Shaun (Livingston) and Andre (Iguodala)," Myers said, via ESPN.com. "I can pretty much unequivocally say without it, we're not looking at the team we have right now. What Kevin did shows who he is, shows what he's about and I think it's clear that that's winning.

"Without him doing that it would have been a different roster, and clearly to me, a roster that wasn't as good as the one we have right now."

Myers made sure everyone knew that no one pressured Durant into his decision. He wanted to stay with the Warriors.

"He did it on his own volition, which makes it that much more impactful and impressive to me," Myers said. "He's a max player for the foreseeable future forever. For him to do something like that is commendable. Without him doing that, other sacrifices as far as roster would have had to be made."

The Warriors cruised through the postseason, ultimately beating the Cavs in five games. Teams have made a mad dash this offseason trying to gain ground on Golden State, but as long as Curry and Durant are healthy, they should be set.